Diver Who Admits Faking His Death Must Pay Up

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February 26, 2000

MIAMI - A scuba diver who admitted faking his death to collect on an insurance policy has been ordered to reimburse rescue crews who searched in vain for him in the seas off Florida.

Kerry Stephen Scheele went diving for lobster from a boat off Key West on Aug. 8, 1998. When he failed to return, friends called the Coast Guard, which joined divers from the Monroe County Sheriff's Office in a search that lasted several days.

Scheele later admitted he swam ashore, ditched his scuba gear in a mangrove stand and hitchhiked to Wisconsin to see his girlfriend, knowing he would be presumed to have drowned.

Scheele's girlfriend and father were beneficiaries of his $1 million life insurance policy and Scheele persuaded the girlfriend to file an claim for the money.